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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27172483">Hot Drinks and Picnic Baskets</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArteaCactus/pseuds/ArteaCactus'>ArteaCactus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Thomceit Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Art, Digital Art, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Hot Chocolate, M/M, Picnics, The Imagination Room (Sanders Sides), Thomceit Week 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:33:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,298</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27172483</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArteaCactus/pseuds/ArteaCactus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An autumn picnic in the Imagination.</p><p>Day One of Thomceit Week 2020.</p><p>Prompt: Leaf piles / Hot chocolate / Scarfs</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Deceit | Janus Sanders/Thomas Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Thomceit Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983355</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>un-beta'd! short and sweet, with a splash of art :) i actually made the art piece first, then decided to write a fic along with it!</p><p>of course, please keep in mind this is CHARACTER thomas/janus!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I think we should have a picnic.” Roman proclaimed out of seemingly nowhere, interrupting the peaceful quiet in the living room where the Sides were helping Thomas with basic household chores (and by helping, it meant they were offering moral support while Thomas did all the work). </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A picnic?” Virgil screwed up his face in distaste, imagining the itchy grass and leaves and the </span>
  <em>
    <span>bugs </span>
  </em>
  <span>and immediately deciding it was a horrible idea. “Yeah, I’m not gonna participate in that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think it would be fun!” Patton chirped, eyes bright, “I could fill up a basket with snacks and we can all hang out in the Imagination!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Imagination</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Logan and Thomas both muttered in unison, though Logan’s tone was reluctant and Thomas’ confused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Could I even </span>
  <em>
    <span>go </span>
  </em>
  <span>there?” Thomas wondered aloud, folding his clean laundry on his bed, “Like, wouldn’t it be me, submerging myself into my own head? I’m pretty sure that’s unhealthy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It would only be for a limited amount of time,” Roman flapped his hands dismissively, “And we could make sure you wouldn’t get lost!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Virgil grunted, hunching in on himself, “I mean, what if Thomas </span>
  <em>
    <span>does </span>
  </em>
  <span>get stuck in his own head? And he’s left just sitting out here with his eyes shut and completely unaware of his surroundings- what if something catches on fire? What if there’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>robbery</span>
  </em>
  <span>? What if someone breaks in and he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>defenseless </span>
  </em>
  <span>and-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“While I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>loving </span>
  </em>
  <span>that train of thought, that’s impossible,” Remus cut him off, shoving Virgil’s shoulder, “He would still be mostly awake. Anything that touches him or otherwise disturbs him from the outside world would snap him out of it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would like to be excluded from this venture,” Logan piped up, looking exceedingly uncomfortable, “The Imagination is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>my favorite place in the Mind Palace and I would prefer to keep from staying in a fantasy world for an extended amount of time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, Specs,” Roman assured, “We’d stay far away from any </span>
  <em>
    <span>fantastical </span>
  </em>
  <span>things that would either break you down or cause </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>to break </span>
  <em>
    <span>it</span>
  </em>
  <span> down.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not exactly the most reassuring thing you’ve ever said,” Janus sighed, Virgil nodding along vigorously in agreement, “But I don’t see why it’d be an awful idea. I mean, you may as well call it a form of self-care; you’re with a group of people, away from anything stressful such as work or social media, and enjoying nature. Artificial nature, but it all has the same effects.” Janus rationalized, losing Virgil’s support as he realized Janus wasn’t against the idea. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I guess,” Thomas hummed quietly, mulling it over in his head for a moment, and then picked up the empty clothes basket. “Alright, sure. Let’s do it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Roman’s eyes lit up and he grabbed his brother’s arm, and together they sunk into the Mind Palace, undoubtedly to start sprucing up the Imagination for a picnic day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil and Logan still looked uncomfortable, but Thomas smiled at them reassuringly. He was positive everything would go okay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And not long later, Roman had reappeared, proudly announcing to Thomas that the Imagination was ready for picnic-ing. The other Sides had disappeared a while ago, but Thomas was sure he could hear Logan in the back of his head muttering about how picnic wasn’t a verb.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The moment Thomas stepped foot into the Imagination, warm sunlight hit him and made his skin tingle pleasantly. A chilled breeze swept past him and blew his hair into his face, and he pulled the sleeves of his sweater over his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In front of him was a vast grassy field dotted with looming oak trees a variety of pretty colors, leaves dancing delicately from the branches to the ground. Flowers of all types decorated the land, smatterings of pinks, blues, and purples against the green grass and reds, oranges, and yellows of the trees. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not far away from where he and Roman stood was a large, orange striped blanket laid out on the ground, his other Sides sitting on it to make sure it doesn’t blow away. There were three picnic baskets sitting in the center of the blanket- Thomas wasn’t sure what was in them, but he did see a sandwich poking out the lid of one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Past them, the field dipped into a deep valley, a river cutting through the center and stretching on for as far as he could see. In the middle of the river, four large boulders cut through the water, creating a stepping stone path to the other side of the valley.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Woah</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Thomas breathed, “Wh- you </span>
  <em>
    <span>made </span>
  </em>
  <span>this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Roman looked a little sheepish, “I didn’t really </span>
  <em>
    <span>make </span>
  </em>
  <span>it. I don’t create the land itself, but I can influence the way it looks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s still gorgeous, Roman,” Thomas sent him a wide, astonished grin, before he wandered over towards the others on the blanket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thomas, darling, it’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>ninety degrees</span>
  </em>
  <span>, why are you so underdressed?” Janus frowned, pulling Thomas down next to where he sat with a dull gray blanket and a striped auburn scarf around his neck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Underdressed? I have a sweater on!” Thomas exclaimed, though didn’t argue when Janus wrapped him in the blanket and scarf as well, pressed up against him. He was surprised at how cold Janus felt before he remembered his snake-like traits, and he grabbed Janus’ cold, gloved hand, holding it tight between his warm ones. “And it’s not like I have an abundance of thick, warm clothes. I live in </span>
  <em>
    <span>Florida</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Janus rolled his eyes but didn’t argue any further, merely enjoyed the warmth of Thomas’ body against his own. Instead, he turned his attention to the Sides who were currently fighting over who gets to keep the pretty red leaf that had fallen from the tree above them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Couldn’t you or Roman just... Make another one?” Janus muttered to Remus, who sat on the other side of him, chewing on a stick. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but where’s the fun in that?” Remus gave him a toothy grin, and Janus chose not to point out the fact that he had grass stuck in his teeth. He was almost afraid to ask.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hot chocolate?” Patton offered Thomas and Janus each mugs, filled to the brim with steaming hot cocoa topped with whipped cream. Thomas perked up immediately, thanking Patton as he took the cups and handed one to Janus, who seemed to cradle it mostly for warmth rather than to drink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas sipped at his hot drink gingerly, watching on in amusement as Virgil tackled Roman, stealing the maple leaf from his hands, as Roman cried out in faux agony as the Anxious Side threw a pinecone at his forehead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan, despite all his worries about coming, seemed to be enjoying just sitting under the shade of the tree and reading his book, somehow managing to focus despite the two Sides tussling like feral cats over a leaf. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patton was happily munching on a sandwich, and even offered Remus a bowl of uncooked pasta to eat, which he accepted happily- though Patton still cringed at the crunching sound as Remus ate.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eyes slipping shut, Thomas basked in the feeling of the warm sun on his face, cool breeze brushing against his skin, and the sound of his Sides around him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slowly, he fell asleep, slumping against his boyfriend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling the weight against him get heavier, Janus stole the mug from Thomas’ hands before he could spill it in his sleep, setting it down by their feet, and tightened the blanket around them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And despite his best efforts, Janus’ expression softened as he stared down at Thomas resting against him, a smile dancing on his lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oooohh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Jan-Jan’s in </span>
  <em>
    <span>loooove!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So help me, Remus, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>throw you in the river.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>the art piece to go along with the fic! pleeasse don't trace/repost, thankie ! </p><p>open image in new tab to get a good view!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for reading, please feel free to leave a comment and/or kudos! if you like my writing, check out my tumblr blog, hissceit!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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